RealCONs: A Digital Framework for Construction Reporting Accuracy and Early Delay Detection

Accurate and timely reporting is essential for effective construction project management. However, existing progress tracking systems often face challenges such as delayed reporting, data inconsistencies, and inefficient documentation processes, compromising report accuracy and prolonging preparation times. This study introduces RealCONs, a digital framework for on-site project reporting management designed to enhance construction site real-time data acquisition, project tracking and reporting. The framework integrates the Rational Unified Process (RUP) methodology and Unified Modelling Language (UML) to streamline workflows. A comparative analysis was conducted using case studies from the Electrical and Instrumentation (E&I) trade dataset to evaluate RealCONs' effectiveness in 1) improving daily reports generation speed, 2) Reducing reporting errors, and 3) Improving project performance via early delay identification. A mixed-methods approach was employed to validate RealCONs' objectives, analysing daily reports and their preparation times while utilising Earned Value Management (EVM) metrics to assess the impact of early delay identification on project performance (CPI, SPI). The results demonstrate that RealCONs significantly outperforms traditional methods, increasing total report generation by 32.2%, reducing reporting errors by 84%, and enabling earlier delay notifications. Although developed for the E&I trade, the framework offers scalable applications for broader construction and infrastructure projects facing similar reporting inefficiencies.